Personalized toy and method for manufacturing and delivering the same

ABSTRACT

A personalized toy and a method for marketing a toy through the use of computer screen images, and of manufacturing a personalized toy. The personalized toy is manufactured as ordered by a customer. Several different configurations of components that may be assembled as part of a finished toy are provided. Computer screen images of the different configurations of at least one of the components are displayed on a computer, and a customer viewing the displayed images is allowed to record a selected configuration of component, to be assembled as part of the personalized toy. A representational image of the toy incorporating the selected configuration may be displayed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/804,664, filed Mar. 12, 2001, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/183,323 filed Oct.30, 1998, now issued on Mar. 27, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,750, ofJill E. Barad, Jeanette Corcuera, Greg Vineyard, Darian Pasterski, PalosVerdes, Joe Scully, John Watson, Roy Kaneshiro, Brian Channell, JeanChu, Nancie Martin, Simon Cheung Shu Keun, and Li Tak Chee for aPERSONALIZED TOY AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AND DELIVERING THE SAME,the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to personalized toys andmethods for marketing, manufacturing and delivering personalized toys.The toys may include virtually any type of toy, such as a doll, asdescribed herein.

[0003] Using the present invention as a guide, patents were discovereddisclosing what could be described as personalized toys, typicallydolls. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,795,397, 5,141,466, 5,279,514,5,387,107, 5,468,172, and 5,515,592, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference, disclose various embodiments of dolls.However, these disclosures are limited, disclosing only attaching aphotograph or other image to the toy, or recording audio information foraudible playback by the toy.

[0004] The above incorporated references also are limited in that theydisclose only toys that are intended to mimic the appearance or voice ofan existing individual. There is no opportunity for creativity in theselection or manufacturing of the disclosed toys. Furthermore, there isno method for visualizing any changes in appearance of the toy prior tomanufacturing the toy. Nor is there any need for such a method, giventhe intended true-to-life design of all of the toys disclosed in theseincorporated references.

[0005] The present invention allows a user to create a personalized toythrough interactive computer programs, receiving immediate feedback onchanges made to the toy. It also includes steps for limiting the extentto which particular configurations of components may be selected byconsumers, personalizing packaging for a personalized toy, optimizingthe manufacturing of large quantities of personalized toys, anddelivering each personalized toy and any accompanying material to theintended recipient of the toy, accurately, reliably, and quickly.

[0006] Also using the present invention as a guide, examples of videoand computer systems to visualize changed appearances of items are foundin U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,823,285, 4,297,724, 4,539,585, and 5,563,992, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. However, noneof these disclosures teaches the present invention in which apersonalized toy is assembled based on interactive selections made forconfigurations of at least some of the components of the toy.

[0007] Similarly, examples of product-containing boxes or packages inwhich the appearance of the package is modified by at least a portion ofthe content being visible through the package were found in U.S. Pat.Nos. 2,518,711, 5,379,886, 5,582,293, and 5,755,327, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Yet no known package iscombined with a personalized toy and identifying material for the toy,as described in more detail below.

[0008] The advantages of the present invention will be understood morereadily after a consideration of the drawings and the following detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a computer screen image illustrating several steps inthe invented method for manufacturing a personalized toy, specifically apersonalized doll as represented in FIG. 1.

[0010]FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a personalized toy and itspackaging, manufactured utilizing the steps illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 3 is an isometric view showing selected components of thepersonalized toy and packaging of FIG. 2.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a computer network and selectedperipheral devices that may be used to practice the invented method.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a flowchart representing some of the steps in anembodiment of the invented method, including the steps illustrated inFIG. 1, to manufacture the personalized toy of FIG. 2.

[0014]FIG. 6 is a computer screen image illustrating a branching stepwithin FIG. 5, in which a customer chooses whether to follow a scriptedprocedure or follow a more selective procedure for specifying theconfiguration of a personalized toy.

[0015]FIG. 7 is a computer screen image illustrating a selection step inthe method of FIG. 5, including displaying visual representations ofchoices for several attributes of components of a doll.

[0016]FIG. 8 is a computer screen image illustrating a changed displaystep from FIG. 5, in which the selections made in FIG. 7 have beenimplemented in a representational image of the toy.

[0017]FIG. 9 is a computer screen image illustrating additional displayand selection steps of FIG. 5, including direct data entry and selectionfrom predefined attributes of a text message to accompany a personalizeddoll.

[0018]FIG. 10 is a computer screen image similar to FIG. 9, illustratinga changed display including chosen values for attributes of the printedmessage of FIG. 9.

[0019]FIG. 11 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofdisplaying a narrative summary of the personalized toy created using thesteps of FIGS. 1 and 5-10, and illustrating the step of confirming theselection of attributes for components of a personalized toy, in theform of an “Order” icon and a “Print” icon.

[0020]FIG. 12 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofinputting identifying information, as part of a scripted procedure forordering a personalized toy.

[0021]FIG. 13 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting skin and facial characteristics of a doll, representingattributes of doll body parts.

[0022]FIG. 14 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting eye color for a doll, representing an attribute of a dollhead.

[0023]FIG. 15 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting a hairstyle attribute for a doll.

[0024]FIG. 16 is a computer screen image illustrating changing thedisplayed image to show the chosen value for a hairstyle attribute of apersonalized doll, when compared to FIG. 15.

[0025]FIG. 17 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting a hair color for a doll.

[0026]FIG. 18 is a computer screen image illustrating a graphicaltransition step, incorporating selected attributes associated with apersonalized toy.

[0027]FIG. 19 is a computer screen image illustrating the display of arealistic image of a personalized doll, representing customer selectionof skin color and facial characteristics, eye color, hairstyle, and haircolor.

[0028]FIG. 20 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting a fashion outfit for a doll.

[0029]FIG. 21 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofselecting fashion accessories for a doll.

[0030]FIG. 22 is a computer screen image illustrating a changed displayin which the fashion accessory attribute selected is displayedseparately from the customer-specified doll.

[0031]FIG. 23 is a computer screen image illustrating display andselection of text attributes in connection with a narrative descriptionof a customer-specified doll, similar to the computer screen image ofFIG. 11, and further including component-specific icons providinghypertext links to the steps illustrated by FIGS. 13-17, 20, and 21.

[0032]FIG. 24 is a computer screen image illustrating the step ofdisplaying an itemized list of identifiers associated with thecustomer-selected attributes of the components of the doll, andillustrating the step of confirming the selection of attributes in theform of a “Already Registered” icon and a “New Registration” icon.

[0033]FIG. 25 is a flow chart representing steps of the presentinvention used to maintain a database of configurations of componentsfor a toy, and limiting the quantity of such configurations.

[0034]FIG. 26 is a flow chart representing steps of the presentinvention used to verify that a personalized toy is manufactured tomatch a customer order prior to delivering the personalized toy to adesignated recipient.

[0035]FIG. 27 is a layout showing a production document speciallydesigned for use as part of the invented method to manufacture apersonalized toy.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, a computer screen image is shown, includinga representational image of a personalized doll and of severalcomponents and several different configurations of components that maybe assembled as part of a doll. The personalized doll is indicated at10, including a body 12, having a skin color, such as ivory, tan, orbrown. Depending on the amount of personalization desired for thepersonalized toy, numerous configurations of body 12 and its skin colormay be provided. Furthermore, it should be understood that, while thepresent invention is described with respect to a doll and its clothing,it is intended that the invention include a method to make many othertypes of personalized toys, such as toy vehicles, race sets,construction sets, and games.

[0037] Other components of toy 10 include a head 14 having a mouth 16,with a selectable shape. Eyes 18 may be specified to include aparticular configuration of eye color, and hair style 20 may be selectedfrom various configurations, and specified to be of a particularconfiguration of hair color. Similarly, a clothing fashion 22 may beselected from various configurations of clothing fashions, and anaccessory set 24 may be selected. In FIG. 1, three differentconfigurations of clothing fashion 22 are shown as part of the computerscreen image, including a first fashion 22 a, a second fashion 22 b, anda third fashion 22 c. Similarly, several configurations of accessorysets are shown as items 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, and 24 d.

[0038] All of the above-discussed components shown in FIG. 1 representthree-dimensional aspects of personalized toy 10. However, the methodand personalized toy of the present invention also may include othertypes of components, such as electronic components housed within thetoy, and programming for such electronics. The “display” and“representational image” provided by the computer relative topersonalized toy 10, may, therefore, also include audio andrepresentational information. For example, toy 10 may be programmed tosay a particular phrase or set of words, play a particular tune or song,or move in a particular manner. The image therefore could includeplayback of a representational audio track, and a movingrepresentational image of toy 10.

[0039] Toy 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as part of a computer screen image 26,specifically as part of a representational image 28. Representationalimage 28 may display the selected configurations. All aspects of aparticular personalized toy 10 may be shown, or, as shown in FIG. 1,some components may be shown in a first representational image 28 a, andother components may be shown in a second representational image 28 b.For example, image 28 b displays a customer's selection of configuration24 d of accessory set 24.

[0040] Also shown in FIG. 1, as part of image 26, are several icons 30used to navigate within internet web pages, and a browser tool bar 32for similar purposes. Representational images 28 may also be icons. Acustomer viewing the displayed images may record a selectedconfiguration of component by clicking on the representational image.

[0041] In FIG. 2, personalized toy 10 is shown placed in a package 34.Preferably, package 34 includes one or more apertures 36. For example,one such aperture 36 a is provided so that personalized toy 10 may beseen from the exterior of package 34. A second aperture 36 b may beprovided so that printed material 38 may be placed within aperture 36 bto create the appearance of a personalized package.

[0042] Referring to FIG. 3, the components of the packaged, personalizedtoy shown in FIG. 2 are shown, partially unpackaged. Printed material 38preferably includes textual information such as a story 40, which alsomay include a certificate of authenticity, and a description of theselected configuration for personalized toy 10, the customer, and/or therecipient. Printed material 38 further may include identifying material42, preferably a customer-defined toy name 44 and a customer-definedintended recipient 46.

[0043] Printed material 38 may be connected to personalized toy 10 andpackage 34, as desired. Printed material 38 may either be printed as aseparate document, as shown, or printed directly on package 34 or toy10. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, printed material 38 isprinted on a single side of a sheet of cardstock, and folded so that theprinted material is visible from both sides of the fold. Preferably,package 34 is formed to include a front flap 50 with tabs 52 formed onthe inside of flap 50.

[0044] Printed material 38, folded as shown, is connected to package 34,or, more specifically for the embodiment shown, connected to the insideof flap 50, by inserting edges of printed material 38 under tabs 52.Dashed lines 38 a represent printed material 38 held within package 34.Flap 50 is also preferably made from a folded sheet of cardstock, sothat printed material does not show in FIG. 2 except through aperture 36b. Tabs 52 are hidden by the front layer of the folded card stock offlap 50. Similar tabs and flaps may be placed elsewhere on or insidepackage 34, as desired.

[0045] Other details of package 34 shown in FIG. 3 include a toy-supportcard 54, which may be shaped to display personalized toy 10 while toy 10is secured inside package 34. Retaining straps 56 may be used to holdpersonalized toy 10 relative to packing card 54, and to hold othercomponents of personalized toy 10, such as accessory set 24 d, as shown.Numerous other components or accessories may be enclosed within package34, as desired, and as appropriate for the type of toy 10 that is beingmanufactured.

[0046] FIGS. 1-3 provide a brief overview of the specific components fora particular personalized toy, and some of the images that may bedisplayed on a computer as part of creating a personalized toy 10. Theembodiments of the invented method disclosed herein are accomplishedbest through a distributed computer network, such as the internet orworld wide web. Selected components of an example distributed computernetwork are illustrated in FIG. 4, in block diagram form. The arrowsconnecting the various blocks in FIG. 4 indicate the typical directionof information flow.

[0047] In FIG. 4, a customer 60 receives information from a computerscreen 62, and inputs information into the computer network through acomputer keyboard or other input devices 64. Customer 60 also mayreceive information from a computer printer 66 or other output device.Computer screen 62, input device 64, and printer 66 preferably areconnected to a customer computer 68.

[0048] Customer computer 68 communicates with an internet servercomputer 70, which may be numerous computers as part of the worldwideweb or internet. Internet server computer 70 is serviced in turn by adatabase maintenance and order storage computer 72, typically located ata data processing facility of the manufacturer. Order computer 72 thentransfers a group of orders to an order processing computer 74, whichmay include a computer printer or other output device used in assemblingthe various configurations of components specified in a particularorder. Order processing computer may add additional instructions to theorder, as needed. These additional instructions are predefined to allowfor a complete toy to be assembled without requiring customer selectionof every detail of the toy. For example, it may be desired to requirethat every doll include a head, two legs and two arms, interconnected bya torso.

[0049] Order processing computer 74 also may include computer inputdevices, including a bar code reader, keyboard, or touch screen.Finally, yet another computer is shown as a shipping computer 80,through which the shipping and delivery of completed orders are tracked.

[0050] The various computers shown in FIG. 4 are shown schematicallyonly. It will be understood by those having skill in the art of computernetworks that the complete network may include numerous computers inaddition to or as represented by each computer shown in FIG. 4.Furthermore, it is envisioned that numerous customers 60 will access theinternet from various locations as part of the selecting, displaying,ordering, and manufacturing steps, discussed below.

[0051] With this background, FIG. 5 now will be described, showing aflowchart of some of the steps useful in a method for manufacturing,marketing, packaging, and distributing personalized toy 10. Many of thesteps itemized in FIG. 5 are illustrated by screen images in otherfigures, as identified in FIG. 5. These screen images in these otherfigures will be discussed in more detail, below.

[0052] The flowchart in FIG. 5 has been divided generally into tworegions, namely collecting orders and processing orders. Beginning firstwith collecting orders, an initial step is to access a computer, at 110,and determine whether to follow a predefined script for choosingattributes of the toy, or to select which attributes to change, at 112.Accessing a computer in 110 is performed by customer 60, as is theselection of step 112. Assuming customer 60 decides to select specificattributes to change, the next step is performed as part of computersoftware, and includes accessing databases and displaying choices forseveral attributes of components for a personalized toy, at 114.Referring back to FIG. 1, step 114 is illustrated by the display ofthree different configurations 22 a, 22 b, and 22 c of fashion outfits22, and four different configurations 24 a, 24 b, 24 c, and 24 d ofaccessories 24.

[0053] Continuing with FIG. 5, a customer then performs a step ofchoosing various attributes from the databases, at 116, after which thecomputer software changes the display to show chosen values forattributes, at 118. In FIG. 1, these steps are indicated by the displayin representational image 26 a of fashion outfit 22 b, and by thedisplay in representational image 26 b of fashion accessory 24 d.

[0054] For some toys, it may be possible to display all configurationsof all the components as part of a single image 26. Thus, steps 114,116, and 118 all would be accomplished as part of a single image 26.Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 1, only a certain number of thecomponents may be displayed in a particular image 26, in which casesteps 114, 116, and 118 would be repeated, as necessary, for additionalcomponents. After all components have been selected, as desired by acustomer, an order initiation step 120 may be selected. If a customerindicates that the order is to be initiated, preferably a summary ofpersonalized toy 10 is displayed, at 122.

[0055] A similar set of steps may be used to accomplish the same result,as illustrated in FIG. 5 as part of following a predefined script. Inthe embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 11-23, described in more detail below,the first step after step 112 is to input identifying information, at124. This identifying information may be considered part of thecomponents that are assembled to obtain personalized toy 10, even thoughit generally is only produced in the form of printed material 38 that ispackaged with toy 10. Some of the identifying information may, however,be applied to toy 10 as a label, or even printed directly on or as apart of toy 10, as discussed below.

[0056] As part of the predefined script, the next attribute is selectedby first accessing a database and displaying choices for that attribute,at 126, then choosing a particular attribute from the database, at 128,and, finally, changing the display to show a chosen value for anattribute, at 130. Steps 126, 128, and 130 are repeated in a predefinedorder until all attributes have been selected, at 132. After the displayhas been changed to show a chosen value for the final attribute, at 130,a summary of personalized toy 10 is displayed, at 134, similar to step122.

[0057] For many of the above-identified steps, forward or backwardprogress from one step to the next may be accomplished by selectingparticular icons 30 or tools on browser toolbar 32, as will beunderstood by those having skill in the art of hypertext documents andthe internet. For example, in FIG. 1, a forward icon 30 a may be used tomove forward, and a back icon 30 b may be used to move backward relativeto the steps shown in FIG. 5.

[0058] After the customer approves of the display summary step performedby the computer as part of steps 122 and 134, a different summary imageis prepared by the computer, and the customer is asked to confirm theorder, at 136. When the appropriate customer input indicates that theorder is confirmed, specialized recordings may be prepared, at 138, asdiscussed in more detail below, and each order is stored as a set ofselected attributes, at 140. Preferably, the order is a machine-readabledata string stored in computer memory, so that further automatedprocessing may performed, as desired.

[0059] The specialized recordings of step 138 may take several differentforms, and are believed helpful to marketing personalized toys of thetype disclosed herein. One such specialized recording includes aprintout of the representational image showing the personalized toy, ascreated by the customer. Another such specialized recording wouldinclude a computer record of the representational image, saved inmachine memory, preferably as a web page accessible to the publicthrough the internet by associating the record with a resource locator.The customer then may encourage others to view the representationalimage of the toy, either by showing the printed image to others or byproviding the customer with the resource locator for the personalizedweb page so that customer may supply others with the resource locatorand encourage others to view the image through the internet.

[0060] Toys such as personalized toy 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3 often aremarketed on a nationwide or worldwide scale, in which case numerousorders will be stored as part of step 140, over time. Preferably, theseorders are assembled as a collection of sets of selected attributes, at142, and forwarded to a manufacturing facility. At some point during themethod, an optimized assembly routine may be determined, at 144, afterwhich personalized toys are manufactured according to the optimizedassembly routine, at 146.

[0061] If desired, identifying material based on each order or set ofselected attributes may be printed, at 148, and the identifying materialand matching personalized toy may be packaged, at 150. As part ofpackaging step 150, each package may be labeled with a delivery addressbased on the identifying material. The labeled, packaged, personalizedtoys may be grouped, at 154, and shipped to the customer.

[0062] Preferably, the step of shipping personalized toys 10 to thecustomer includes the steps of shipping a group of packages to a centraldistribution point, at 156, perhaps by air freight or other carrier, asneeded. These packages may be processed through Customs while thepackages are airborne, at 158, after which each package of the airfreighted group is delivered to the destination specified by the labelapplied as part of step 152, at 160.

[0063] It should be understood that the steps shown in FIG. 5 simply areexamples of steps in one embodiment of the present invention. Othersteps may be added, as desired, and many of the steps may be omitted.Furthermore, the order of the steps may be changed for particular typesof personalized toys.

[0064] Many of the steps shown in FIG. 5 are illustrated herein byvarious computer screen images. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates theinitial step of accessing a computer, preferably a computer withinternet browser software and a graphical user interface. The step ofdetermining whether to select attributes as a group, or follow apredefined script, is shown in FIG. 6, with icon 30 c being used toaccess steps 114-122, and icon 30 d being used to access steps 124-134.

[0065]FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of steps 114-118, and FIG. 7represents another embodiment of these steps. The steps illustrated inFIG. 7 preferably are performed before the steps illustrated in FIG. 1.FIG. 8 illustrates a particular embodiment of the step of changingdisplay to show chosen values for attributes, at 118 in FIG. 5. FIGS. 9and 10 illustrate the selecting of textual aspects of printed materialto be included with personalized 10. FIG. 9 specifically illustrates thedisplay before any of the configurations have been selected, and FIG. 10illustrates the display after all of the configurations have beenselected. FIG. 11 then illustrates the display step 122 with all of theselections of various components shown in a single representationalimage, including printed and non-printed material. FIG. 11 alsoillustrates the display step 134, if a predefined script is followed.

[0066] The initial steps of following a predefined script areillustrated in FIGS. 12-23. In FIG. 12, identifying information isinput, corresponding to step 124. In FIG. 13, the skin tone and mouthstyle of a doll are selected, corresponding to steps 126 and 128. InFIG. 14, the display has been changed to display a representationalimage incorporating the selected configurations of tan skin tone,open-mouth smile from FIG. 13, corresponding to step 130. FIG. 14 alsorepresents the step of repeating steps 126 and 128, pursuant to step132, specifically for selecting the eye color for a doll.

[0067]FIG. 15 illustrates displaying configurations of a hairstyle, andFIG. 16 illustrates changing the representational image 28 to reflect aselected hairstyle. Similarly, FIG. 17 illustrates both displayingvarious aspects of hair color, and displaying a representational imageof a toy incorporating the selected hair color.

[0068]FIG. 18 illustrates a change of the display, primarily in responseto text information input by the customer. FIG. 18 illustrates whatmight best be described as a transitional step, not shown in FIG. 5. Thedisplayed image of FIG. 18 remains on the screen for a predefined periodof time, and then automatically transitions into the image of FIG. 19. Acustomer may force the transition prior to the predefined period of timeby clicking on the “Click here to continue” icon of FIG. 18. FIG. 19 isanother transitional step, but more closely corresponds to step 130,illustrating a change in the display to show the cumulative effect ofthe attributes selected as part of FIGS. 12-17. FIG. 20 illustrates asimilar transitional step.

[0069] In FIG. 20, steps 126-130 are illustrated for selecting a fashionoutfit and, in FIG. 21, step 126 is illustrated with respect to anaccessory set. FIG. 21 differs somewhat from the images shown in FIGS.12-20 in that a separate portion of the display is allocated for beingchanged through a representational image 28 b of the accessory set,which is blank in FIG. 21 because no selection has been made. In FIG.22, a selection has been made, and representational image 28 b reflectsthis selection.

[0070]FIG. 23 is similar to FIG. 10, but the text input boxes of FIG. 10have been replaced by icons allowing direct access to displays relatedto particular components of personalized toy 10. For example, icon 30 eallows a customer to return to the display for selecting the look ofpersonalized toy 10, as illustrated in FIG. 13. After the particularselection is made in FIG. 13, the computer software automaticallyreturns to the display of FIG. 23. FIG. 24 contains a slightly differentsummary from that shown in FIG. 11, and corresponds to the step ofconfirming the order, at 136 in FIG. 5. For the customer to indicate“yes” with respect to step 136, the icon “Already Registered” 30 f or“New Registration” 30 g are used to access a conventional internetregistration and purchase program, as will be understood by those havingskill in the art of internet commerce. After the appropriate purchaseinformation is entered, steps similar to those corresponding to 138-160of FIG. 5 may be completed by the manufacturer or seller of personalizedtoy 10.

[0071] As discussed above, numerous variations in the content andchronology of the various steps, and variations in the type ofpersonalized toy 10 are possible. For example, FIG. 25 shows severalsteps useful for a unique database management routine by which limitededitions are controlled for specific personalized toys 10. The databasefirst is created by defining parameters for a configuration, at 162, andestablishing a quantity limit for at least one configuration, at 164.Steps 162 and/or 164 may be repeated, as desired, for as manyconfigurations of components of a personalized toy as the manufacturerintends to allow customers to select.

[0072] Once the database is made available to customer selection, asillustrated in FIGS. 1-23, a cumulative total for each configurationhaving a quantity limit is maintained, at 166. When the establishedquantity limit is reached, the entire database record for thatconfiguration is replaced, including the parameters defining thatconfiguration. This prevents further customer selection of theparticular configuration. Alternatively, the record may be altered sothat it instructs the computer not to allow customer selection of theconfiguration.

[0073] Through steps 166 and 168, limited editions of personalized toy10 may be controlled. It is believed that this will increase the valueto the customer of each personalized toy. Altering the record for aparticular configuration, as discussed above, may also include alteringthe displayed representation to remind a customer that the particularconfiguration is no longer available.

[0074]FIG. 26 represents further refinements related to manufacturingpersonalized toy 10. Preferably, manufacturing includes printingdocuments defining the order, including a pick list, a mailing label,packing slip, and bar code or other machine-readable glyph, at 170.Components then are collected as defined by each order, and thecollected components and order placed in a tote or other container foruse in assembly line processing, at 172. Personalized toy 10 then isassembled based on an optimized assembly routine, at 174.

[0075] Preferably, the manufacturing process includes verifying that thepersonalized toy ordered by a customer matches the personalized toyassembled and delivered to an intended recipient. This is accomplishedbest by reading a bar code from printed material defining the order sothat a computer may identify the machine-readable data string for theparticular order associated with the personalized toy, at 176. Amachine-readable record of the assembled personalized toy 10 then issaved in the computer at 178. This may be accomplished by a humaninputting data codes identifying the various configurations ofcomponents in personalized toy 10, or by using machine vision or othermethods of inputting information into a computer. In either case, therecord is based on physical observation of the assembled personalizedtoy, and not based on some pre-recorded data string.

[0076] The record created based on the assembled personalized toy 10then is compared to the order that defines the intended personalizedtoy, at 180, and the personalized toy then is sent to further processingonly if the record matches the order. If the record does not match theorder, a salvage routine may be initiated for the assembled toy, at 182.

[0077] Turning now to FIG. 27, a manufacturing or production document 82is shown, including a mailing label 84, a production list 86, and apacking list 88. A bar code 90 is printed on each of label 84, list 86,and list 88. Other bar codes or data glyphs may be printed on thedocument, as desired, as indicated by glyphs 92. The use of a matchingbar code 90 on each of the separable portions of documents 82 allowsuniform reference to be made to the same personalized toy. The shippermay use mailing label 84, and the manufacturing facility may useproduction list 86. Furthermore, a customer service facility may usepacking list 88 in processing a return or warranty claim with respect tothe personalized toy.

[0078] Further improvements of production document 82 include the use ofvarious icons 94 as part of production list 86. For example, icon 94 ainstructs a worker that it refers to the head of a doll and icon 94 brefers to the body of a doll. An identifier 96 may be printed as part oficon 94 to identify the particular configuration of the component thatis to be used for the personalized toy. It has been found that thecombination of an icon 94 and a written identifier 96 ensures betterquality control in the assembly of personalized toys according to themethod of the present invention.

[0079] In one embodiment of production document 82, the separableportions of document 82 are printed on adhesive paper, so that eachportion may be removed and adhered to an appropriate part of thepersonalized toy or its packaging. For example, mailing label 84 isremoved and placed on a shipping container that encloses and protectsthe package for the toy, such as package 34 shown in FIG. 2.

[0080] Furthermore, production document 82 may be perforated along line98, so that packing list 88 may be separated from production document 82without exposing its associated adhesive backing. This allows packinglist 88 to be included in package 34 in a form that the intendedrecipient can remove and store for later use. If the intended recipientlater needs to return personalized toy 10 to a customer servicefacility, the customer need only expose the adhesive backing of packinglist 88, place the entire packing list onto package 34 as a mailinglabel, and ship package 34 and personalized toy 10 as instructed.

[0081] Production document 82 might also include, as part of the same ora separate sheet, personalized labels that may be removed and attachedto the toy. For example, a stand or base may be provided for the dollshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with a name plate attached to the dollidentifying the name assigned to the doll and the intended recipient ofthe doll.

[0082] It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompassesmultiple distinct inventions with independent utility. While each ofthese inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specificembodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to beconsidered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. Thesubject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obviouscombinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features,functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where theclaims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, suchclaims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more suchelements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

[0083] It is believed that the following claims particularly point outcertain combinations and subcombinations that are directed to one of thedisclosed inventions and are novel and non-obvious. Inventions embodiedin other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions,elements and/or properties may be claimed through amendment of thepresent claims or presentation of new claims in this or a relatedapplication. Such amended or new claims, whether they are directed to adifferent invention or directed to the same invention, whetherdifferent, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the original claims,are also regarded as included within the subject matter of theinventions of the present disclosure.

We claim:
 1. A method for manufacturing a toy, comprising the steps of:providing several different configurations of components that may beassembled as part of a finished toy; recording in a computer database acustomer selection of a particular configuration of at least one of thecomponents, to be assembled as part of a personalized toy; printing amanufacturing document based on the customer selection including: aproduction list identifying the customer selection of the particularconfiguration of at least one of the components; a mailing labelidentifying a recipient of a personalized toy defined at least in partby the order; and a packing list describing the personalized toy;assembling a personalized toy according to the production list;packaging the personalized toy with the packing list inside a package;and attaching the mailing label to the package.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the manufacturing document is printed on a single sheet ofpaper.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing document isprinted on an adhesive sheet of paper.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe manufacturing document further includes personalized labels forattachment to the toy.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the productionlist, the mailing label, and the packing list each have an identicalmachine readable glyph verifying delivery and manufacture of thepersonalized toy according to the customer selection.
 6. A document foruse in the manufacture and delivery of a personalized toy to an intendedrecipient, comprising: a production list identifying particularconfigurations of components to be used to assemble a personalized toy;a separable mailing label identifying an intended recipient of thepersonalized toy; and a separable packing list, not identical to theproduction list, which describes the personalized toy.
 7. The documentof claim 6, wherein the production list, the mailing label and thepacking list are preprinted on a single adhesive sheet.
 8. The documentof claim 6, further comprising an identical machine readable glyph oneach of the production list, the mailing label, and the packing list. 9.The document of claim 6, further comprising a separable personalizedlabel for attachment to the toy.
 10. The document of claim 6, whereinthe production list includes icons identifying components to be used toassemble the personalized toy.
 11. The document of claim 10, wherein theproduction list further includes a written identifier which incombination with the icons identifies components to be used to assemblythe personalized toy.
 12. The document of claim 10, wherein the packinglist includes a return address attachable to the toy for return to themanufacturer.
 13. A method for manufacturing a toy, comprising the stepsof: providing several different configurations for at least one of aplurality of components that may be assembled as part of a finished toy;displaying on a computer screen images of the different configurationsof the least one of the components; allowing a customer viewing thedisplayed images to record a selected configuration of the at least oneof the components, to be assembled as part of a personalized toy;displaying a representational image of the personalized toyincorporating the selected configuration; initiating a customer orderfor the personalized toy with the selected configuration; printing amanufacturing document based on the customer order with at least a firstseparable portion and second separable portion; assembling apersonalized toy according to the manufacturing document; packaging thepersonalized toy with the first portion of the manufacturing documentinside a package; and attaching the second portion of the manufacturingdocument to the package.
 14. The method according to claim 13, whereinthe manufacturing document includes: a production list identifying theselected configuration of at least one of the components; a mailinglabel identifying a recipient of the personalized toy defined at leastin part by the customer order; and a packing list describing thepersonalized toy.
 15. The method according to claim 13, wherein thefirst portion of the manufacturing document is a packing list includinginformation regarding return of the toy to the manufacturer.
 16. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein the second portion of themanufacturing document is a mailing label identifying a recipient of thepersonalized toy defined at least in part by the customer order.
 17. Themethod according to claim 13, wherein the manufacturing document isprinted on adhesive paper.
 18. The method according to claim 13, whereinthe first portion and second portion of the manufacturing documentinclude identical machine readable glyphs.
 19. The method according toclaim 18, wherein the identical machine readable glyphs are barcodes.